Device for wire-cable railways



(No Model.)

F. E. OULV ER. DEVICE FOR WIRE CABLE RAILWAYS.

No. 414,681. Patented Nov. 12, 1889.

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PATENT FI'lZ E. UULVER, ()F

DEVICE FOR WIRE- (JIIICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CABLE RAl LWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 414,681, dated November 12, 1889.

Application filed August 19, 1889- Serial No. 321,287. (No model.) v

To (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FITZ E. CULVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Device for \Vire-Cable Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wire-cable rail ways.

Hitherto a round wire cable has been used in wire-cable railways, and though its practicabilityin operation of street-cars has been thoroughly demonstrated, still there are many objections which mightbe overcome. It is known that the grooves in the sheaves or drums around which a round wire cable passes are being constantly ground or cut deeper by the use of a round wire cable,,so that it is necessary to replace the rims to said sheaves or drums with cast-iron segments at regular intervals. It is further known that the resistance due to the rigidity of a round wire cable not immediately assuming the curvature of the sheaves or drums as it is wound upon the same, nor straightening itself immediately on unwinding, increases materially not only the wear of the cable itself, but that of the sheaves or drums around which it runs 5 also, the wear of a round wire cable caused by the jaws of the gripping attachment by means of which it is connected with the car is very great, on account of the small friction-surface it offers. I intend to overcome said objections; and to this end my invention consists in the arrangement'of an elastic and pliable wire cable being rectangular in cross-section and running the entire length of the railway in an uprightor vertical position, so that its vertical sides and its edges afford a greatly-increased gripping or friction surface for the jawsof the gripping, attachment, all of which, as hereinafter, will be more fully described.

In the drawings which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 denotes a car provided with a gripping attachment connected with a rectangular wire cable provided with guidewheels, so as to hold the cable in an upright or vertical position in a casing. Fig. 2 is a top view of said guide-wheels and rectangular cable shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of guide-wheels with a rectangular wire cable, changing its direction.

Fig. 4 is a detail showing a gripping attachment applied to the vertical sides of a cable, the same being in an upright or vertical position.- Fig. 5 are spiral coils interlocking with each other. Fig. (3 is a fractional edge view of spiral coils interlocking with each other. Figs. 7 and S are details showing a modification of a gripping attachment.

A is a car provided with a gripping attach ment B on a railway-track, and C is a casing or tube.

D are guide wheels, provided with flanges to keep the wire cable E in an upright or vertical position the entire length of the railway. At the end of the railway, or at other points, or at the engine-house or power-house, this rectangular cable may be arranged so as to pass over the sheaves or drums in a horizontal position, thereby avoiding the wearing out of the sheaves or drums, as is the case with a round wire cable.

As shown by Figs. 5 and 6 in the drawings, the wire cable E is composed of spiral coils a interlocking with each other and forming layers. The layers interlocking with each other constitute the thickness, and the length of the single spiral coils the width, of my cable. A cable one and one-fourth inch thick and three to four inches wide I consider to be of sufficient strength to give satisfaction in most cases. Such a wire cable, on account of its numerous coiling-joints, each of which, acting as a hinge, has all the elasticity and pliabili t-y necessary, so that when turned, as it may be, from a vertical to a horizontal position when in motion or at rest, there will be no undue strain or friction; and, as shown in Fig. 3, this cable is so carried and supported by flange-wheels that it can be more advantageously used in turning short corners than a round wire cable, the strain being more equally distributed.

I do not limit myself to a rectangular wire cable as shown and described, as other rectangular, square, or flat wire cables or wire ropes may accomplish the same result.

The ri iu attachment as shown in Fl C! b i b 4, is provided with jaws b b, adapting themselves to the vertical surface of the rectangular wire cable. In Figs. 7 and 8 the jaws are represented overlapping the upper and lower edges of the cable, which is accomplished by having one of the jaws b movable, the other I) stationary or fixed. The fixed one is provided with rollers c 0, over which the cableE is riding; but the gripping attachment'may 5 be of any suitable construction, provided they have jaws adapting themselves to the vertical surfaces of the rectangular wire cable, and they may be operated in any well-known manner by means of well-known mechanisms.

The operation of my device is as follows: A stationary engine (not shown in the drawings) or any other well-known power is supposed tobe used as a motor to act upon the rectangular wire cable by sheaves or drums.

' \Vhile the cable is'thus traveling continuously in one direction a car or carriage provided with a gripping attachment will be moved, when the jaws b of the same are applied to the sides, or, as the case may be, to the sides and edges of the vertical cable, so as to exert a sufficient pressure upon the cable, and will be stopped when said jaws are released and 3. In a wire-cable railway, a wire cable composed of spiral coils interlocking with each other and forming layers, and a gripping attachment having jaws adapting themselves to said wire cable and connecting the same with the car, all combined and arranged substantially as set forth. 7

FI'IZ E. CULVER. Vitnesses:

HENRY BRowNE, J NO. T. COSTELLO. 

